Born in 1935 in Athens, Alecos Fassianos studied at the Athens School of Fine Arts from 1956 to 1960 and moved to Paris to study lithography between 1960 and 1963. He has since lived and worked in both cities, epi-centres of the ancient and modern art worlds.

Fassianos couples these two influences in his work, combining ancient myth with modern situations. His work is filled with heroic characters and intellectual allegory set amongst everyday life. Motion is present in every image, usually hair or cloth waving in the breeze. The figures are often posed in a salute or signalling to the viewer either a forthcoming or an already-won victory. They recall a folk-memory of a mythological past and add an heroic edge to the mundane truth of daily situations. In this way, Fassianos's work empowers both viewer and subject as demi-gods.